Audiences were in stitches at the madcap theatrical adventure that was The (One-Act) Play That Goes Wrong, presented by Trinity College School in the Dick and Jane LeVan Theatre the evenings of November 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Thanks to the commitment of cast and crew, this “play within a play” production was full of fun and a few surprises!
Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, and first staged by Mischief Theatre Company in 2012, The Play That Goes Wrong tells the hilarious story of the Cornly Polytechnic Drama Society’s attempt to stage an ambitious period murder mystery. Originally created as a one-act play, The Play That Goes Wrong was later expanded to a two-act production that won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2015. Delving into the original one-act version, TCS cast and crew worked hard and played hard to bring the comedy of errors to life.
The uptight Chris (Atticus Hodges) is set to direct Murder at Haversham Manor, and has cast himself in the role of Inspector Carter. His leading man, Robert (Grace Johnson), thinks he’s Richard Burton and his leading lady, Sandra (Kenna Beatty), is hell-bent on following her Hollywood ambitions. Added to this are the fun-loving Jonathan (Landon Demrovsky), and two first-time thespians, the socially-awkward Dennis (Maggie McLean) and the naïve Max (Kyra Fingas). Trying to keep this zany cast in line are Trevor (Emily Hartleib), the curmudgeonly lighting and sound operator, and stage manager Annie (Bria Chalovich), both of whom are quite happy being behind-the-scenes, until circumstances force them onto the stage. As disaster after disaster befalls the production, the true personalities of cast and crew shine through – for better or worse – and the audience is left to wonder if this play ever will get off the ground!
Fortunately, the production process was much smoother for our real-life TCS crew, led by director, Mr. Bill Walker, supported by assistant director Chloe Chan and technical director Ms. Heather Peters. Amelia Maggi served as stage manager, with Sarah Egan and Lea Jane-David Frenette as assistant stage managers, and a large running crew that kept the action moving quickly: Emma Kim, Sam Richards, Emerson Goodyer, William Canu, Iris Zhu, Riley McKernan, Neala Swanston, Laila Cassidy, Avery Girimonte, Rebecca Zhang, Maddie Goldberg, Krish Teri, Vaarin Ishwar, Michelle Kim, Gisele Caraballo Diaz and Oliver Gu.
Mr. Victor Svenningson ’74 once again lent his talents to lighting and sound design, with Kennedy Adams as lighting operator and Jack Sheppard on the sound board. Hannah Bodden was the costume designer, with Ruby Zheng overseeing hair & make-up design. The sets were created by the team of Mr. Dale Heffernan (construction lead), Mr. Michael den Biesen (construction assistant) and Mr. Mark den Biesen (set painter).
Congratulations to the entire cast and crew on an outstanding production that has garnered enthusiastic praise from audience members!
